Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Koo Chen-fu (辜振甫) stressed yesterday that he would attend a cross-strait relations symposium in Singapore -- if his Chinese counterpart also attends.
Last month, Koo accepted an invitation to visit Singapore at the invitation of the National University of Singapore's East Asia Institute, which is sponsoring the symposium to commemorate the anniversary of the first cross-strait talks in 1993.
It is not yet known whether Koo's Chinese counterpart, Daohan (汪道涵), the head of China's Association of Relations across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS), will also attend the event which is slated for April 7th.
"I will definitely be there if Wang will also be there," said Koo. "However, I do not yet know whether or not Wang will be there."
Koo made the remarks after attending the SEFs board meeting. He had been asked to comment on whether he would meet with Wang in Singapore this April.
Koo said he accepted the invitation a long time ago because he thinks "it is good for both Wang and I to simply just meet, without having to set any particular issues, premise or conditions."
April 29th will mark the 10th year since the opening of talks between Koo and Wang.
There have been no negotiations between the two sides since 1995, when China broke off talks to protest a private visit to the US by then president Lee Teng-hui (
When asked for his thoughts on the approaching anniversary of the so-called Koo-Wang talks, Koo said that he believed the sponsor was holding the event so that both sides could both look back at the past and look forward to the future.
SEF Secretary-General Shi Hwei-you (
Hsu said that the SEF has not yet decided whether or not Koo should go to Singapore, but would decide by the end of the week.
However, the foundation has already decided Chao Chien-min (趙建民), political science professor at the Sun Yat-sen Graduate Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities at National Chengchi University (政治大學) and Chen Po-chih (陳博志), a trustee of the SEF would take part in the symposium.
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